Pages of Interest

Monday, September 22, 2014

Interview with S. M. McEachern

2014 has
been a big year for your writing career. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Yes, it has been big a year for me. For one thing, I
published the second book of the “Sunset Rising” series, entitled “Worlds
Collide”, last March. I was happily surprised when it rocketed up the Amazon
ranking chart and maintained a spot in the top ten Amazon action and adventure
romance bestseller list for months. That in turn attracted new hybrid-publisher
Vook to ask me about acquiring the Sunset Rising series. After a few phone
calls, many emails, and a lot of deliberation, I signed with Vook. I’m very
happy I did.

I’m also working on the third book of my series, tentatively
titled “New World Order”, which I plan to release in January 2015.

In the
past, you’ve blogged about enjoying being an indie author, but you signed with
Vook?

I have to admit, I do like having control over my books.
When I want to do a promotion, or put the books on sale, or give the books away
if I want to, I don’t have to ask permission from a publisher. I can just do
it. So yes, when Vook first approached me I was hesitant to sign with them.
However, Vook is a different kind of publisher; they are a “hybrid publisher.” They
provide an enhanced publishing platform with ongoing marketing support via
proprietary software that tracks ebook sales so authors can make better and
more informed marketing decisions, and authors retain all copyrights and
control over their books.

I officially joined them in July and I have received so much
more than they promised. Vook is a dynamic, enthusiastic team of individuals that
have partnered with me to bring my series to readers through all ebook
retailers at affordable prices. Good for authors and good for readers! And as a
company, they’re growing and constantly investing in themselves and their
authors. For instance, they recently acquired their first publishing imprint,
Byliner. I’m really excited to be a part of Vook, because I truly believe they
are the future of publishing.

Your third
book of the “Sunset Rising” series, tentatively titled “New World Order,” will
be released in January?

That’s the plan. I’m madly writing everyday and no longer
take weekends off! Not that I mind. Writing a book is like reading a good book;
I don’t want to put it down. And this third book has a LOT going on. It’s
definitely the most action-packed of the series, with minor characters from the
first two books sharing Sunny’s spotlight.

You do a
lot of world building in the series. What’s your process for creating a post
apocalyptic world?

In a nutshell, research and imagination. I love research
because not only does it give me a good, solid foundation to begin my stories,
but it also ignites my imagination.It’s kind of like taking what is
and projecting what can or could be. So I read a lot of non-fiction
articles and I also reach out to experts, most of whom have been really happy
to help me. Dr. Bergren of the National Institute of Nanotechnology and Chris
Kratt of the Wild Kratts have been two super helpful resources. I’ll be doing
an interview with Chris this weekend, talking about what a post apocalyptic
creature world might look like, and will have it up on my blog by September 18th
if you’re interested in checking it out.

Is your
third book the last one of the “Sunset Rising” series?

The series was named for the heroine, Sunset O’Donnell
(Sunny), and the first three books are told from her point of view (spoiler
alert: there’s another person sharing the story in book 3!). But as I said
above, I’ve gone to great lengths to create a new world. I can definitely see
more books told from other characters points of view as they reinvent their civilization
and explore a post nuclear earth. And with recruiters, scorchlanders, and
northerners out there, who knows what they’ll find…

Note from
author:

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog and giving me
the opportunity to talk about all the exciting things happening with the “Sunset
Rising” series. For anyone who hasn’t read the series, the first book “Sunset Rising” is on sale everywhere for
just 99 cents from September 16-24, 2014. I also have seven satellite
stories (short stories based on the series) posted on my blog you can check out
here:http://smmceachern.com/category/satellite-stories/
The first six stories were written in between books one and two; the seventh
story is more recent and picks up between books two and three. I always love to
hear from readers, so if you do check out the series, please feel free to get
in touch and let me know what you think!

In a desperate
attempt to escape execution, Sunny O’Donnell and Jack Kenner find a way out of
the Pit and into a world still believed to be toxic with radiation. Under the
brilliant sun for the first time in their lives, they not only discover that
the earth has healed from nuclear war, but there are people outside the Dome.

In Worlds Collide, the second book of the
Sunset Rising trilogy, Sunny and Jack must continue a life of subterfuge in
order to stay alive and find a way to free the Pit. But in their attempt to
save the urchins, they uncover the horrifying truth about President Holt and
the evil he could unleash on the world.

S.M. McEachern was born in Nova Scotia, Canada. She
attended Dalhousie University in the 1990s where she earned an Honours
Degree in International Development Studies. She worked in the field
of International Development for several years, specializing in ocean development.

"Sunset Rising" is S.M. McEachern's first novel. She says
the idea for the story first came to her in the 1990s when she researched
a Bio-Dome experiment in Arizona for an academic paper. The thought
that the world might one day need a Bio-Dome to escape a global catastrophe
set her imagination into overdrive. And the ethics behind such
an idea formed the backdrop for Sunset Rising.

Her goal in writing the novel is to entertain the reader with an interesting
plot and colourful characters.

TRADE-IN and get $$$$

New FIRE HD 10

Readsy's Best Book Blog 2017

Sign up for Debra's Newsletter

Want to be the first to know about new releases, contests and special deals? Sign up here.

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

html

text

mobile

Search This Blog

NetGalley Top Reviewer

Review Status

CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS: I have an overwhelming TBR pile at the moment and am NOT accepting any new books for review. The books reviewed on this site are either digital copies or ARCs sent by publishers or authors. I never accept payment in exchange for a review.

Total Pageviews

GUEST POSTS ARE WELCOME!

If you are interested in contributing a guest post for Two Ends of the Pen, please send me an email at:dlmartin6 AT yahoo DOT com.

Your article/post needs to have some relevance to writing, books, ebooks, epublishing, tips for blogging, marketing strategies, etc. You get the idea--really, anything to do with books and being an author in general. I've also highlighted a number of guest posts in the sidebar to help you understand what I'm looking for in a post.

I look forward to sharing your posts with my readership.

Requesting an Author Interview

If you would like to request an author interview, please send an email to dlmartin6 AT yahoo.com and let me know if you are strictly an indie author or an indie/traditionally published author. This way I can send you interview questions to suit your book(s). All the questions are just suggestions, you may add/change/delete any of them.

Put "Requesting Author Interview" in the email subject line. Interviews are posted on a first-come first-serve basis and will be posted ASAP depending on the backlog of other posts for the blog. In addition to your interview spotlight page, you will also be added to the list of Author Interviews page.

Please do NOT ask me to review your book in your author interview request. I am CLOSED to review submissions.

Contact Me

If you would like to contact Deb directly, please send a message to:dlmartin6 [at] yahoo [dot] com.